PAT Testing

Case Study: What happens if you don't test?

An employee sustained a 240 volt electric shock that broke both shoulders whilst attempting to test a newly manufactured appliance that had been incorrectly wired to the mains lead. Suitable precautions had not been taken to prevent electrical injury to employees engaged in testing work on electrical appliances. Employees were exposed to live wires at 240 Volts ac, there was exposed metal in the test area, there was no PAT test of mains lead prior to live test and no risk assessment for electrical testing work.

The employers were prosecuted under The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (No 14), The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 (No 3) paragraph 1 and received a fine.

(Case study from the Health and Safety Executive site)

Employer Liability - 30 fatal accidents each year

25% of all reportable electrical accidents involve portable appliances, and electricity can kill. Each year about 1000 accidents at work involving electric shock or burns are reported to the Health and Safety Executive. Around 30 of these are fatal.

Even non-fatal shocks can cause severe and permanent injury. Shocks from faulty equipment may lead to falls from ladders, scaffolds or other work platforms. Those using electricity may not be the only ones at risk: poor electrical installations and faulty electrical appliances can lead to fires which may also cause death or injury to others. Most of these accidents can be avoided.

Owners or directors of companies can be liable under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Large awards have been made against companies that had not taken reasonable precautions.

Legal Requirements

The legislation of specific relevance to electrical maintenance is the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 puts the duty of care upon both the employer and the employee to ensure the safety of all persons using the work premises. This includes the self-employed.

The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 state:

• "Every employer shall make suitable and sufficient assessment of:
  
  (a) The risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst at work, and
  
  (b) The risks to ensure the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him or his undertaking."

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 state:

• "Every employer shall ensure that work equipment is so constructed or adapted as to be suitable for which it is provided."
• The PUWER 1998 covers most risks that can result from using work equipment. With respect to risks from electricity, compliance with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 is likely to achieve compliance with the PUWER 1998.
• PUWER 1998 only applies to work equipment used by workers at work. This includes all work equipment (fixed, transportable or portable) connected to a source of electrical energy. PUWER does not apply to fixed installations in a building. The electrical safety of these installations is dealt with only by the Electricity at Work Regulations.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 state:

• "All systems shall at all times be of such construction as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, such danger."
• "As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, such danger."

'System' means an electrical system in which all the electrical equipment is, or may be, electrically connected to a common source of electrical energy and includes such source and such equipment. 'Electrical Equipment' includes anything used, intended to be used or installed for use, to generate, provide, transmit, transform, rectify, convert, conduct, distribute, control, store, measure or use electrical energy.

Scope of the legislation

It is clear that the combination of the HSW Act 1974, the PUWER 1998 and the EAW Regulations 1989 apply to all electrical equipment used in, or associated with, places of work. The scope extends from distribution systems down to the smallest piece of electrical equipment.

It is clear that there is a requirement to inspect and test all types of electrical equipment in all work situations.

Who should carry out the Inspection and Testing?

The Electricity at Work regulations states that:

• "No person shall be engaged in any work activity where technical knowledge or experience is necessary to prevent danger, or where appropriate, injury, unless he possesses such knowledge or experience, or is under such degree of supervision as may be appropriate having regard to the nature of the work"

The IEE Code of Practice states, those carrying out the inspection and testing must be competent to undertake the inspection and, where appropriate, testing of electrical equipment and appliances having due regard of their own safety and that of others. What should be considered is that the 'danger' to be prevented, includes not just the dangers, which may arise during the testing procedure to the tester and others, but also the dangers, which may arise at a later date as a result of using equipment, which has not been effectively tested.

The tester must have an understanding of the modes of electrical, mechanical or thermal damage to electrical equipment and appliances and their flexes, which may be encountered in any environment.

Training must include the identification of equipment and appliance types to determine the test procedures and frequency of inspection and testing. Persons testing must be familiar with the test instruments used and in particular their limitations and restrictions so as to achieve repeatable results without damaging the equipment or the appliance.

Frequency of Testing

There are no absolute rules regarding how often an item of electrical equipment should be tested, HSE Guidance Notes which advised regular testing were generally interpreted as a requirement for annual testing however, circumstances and conditions of use will vary. Test persons should be able to advise on the frequency of testing from their own experience and discussions with the user or dutyholder regarding the lifestyle of the equipment. The repairer of equipment should test after repair. A hirer should test each piece of equipment before each hire contract.

All personnel responsible for the safe use of electrical equipment (e.g. contractors, managers of electrical / electronics laboratories, office managers, are each regarded by the EAWR as dutyholders and should operate a routine safety testing programme for equipment within their control and the periodicity of the tests should be based on the principles of risk assessment.

The HSE offer useful guidance in IND (G) 160L Maintaining portable electrical equipment in offices and other low risk environments.

The HSE advises -

• Experience of operating the maintenance system over a period, together with information on faults found, should be used to review the frequency of inspection. It should also be used to review whether and how often equipment and associated leads and plugs should receive a combined inspection and test.

The above advice offers only a starting point and should be modified by local judgements where necessary - i.e. Risk Assessment is required.

The following table shows the recommended times between tests, as laid out in the IEE guidance notes of PAT testing.

• Users can store a full and detailed inventory of their equipment and tests required for each equipment type.
• Tests are fully configurable, hence MIMS software can be used to store and collate test data on a diverse range of equipment (for example, electrical appliances, pressure vessels, fire extinguishers, etc.).

Contact Midas

Please contact us on 01454-632967 or email chrisgray@midaselectronics.co.uk.